Can't help with the 'technicals' Kevin but CAN share your ambivalence re' Behringer!

They have made shameless copies of the HT-5 and HT-20 (and other models I shouldn't wonder) and so I do consider them ***ts of the highest order...But, they also make some very decent gear at affordable prices for the Home Recording market*.

They seem to "do" electronics well but reliability is often woeful. I have a BCA2000 in the loft.

BRILLIANT concept, never been matched IMO (think SPL Crimson but even more versatile and WAAAY cheaper) They never produced a driver worthy of the name for it. It WOULD work but, wing and utterances. Then bits just began to fail, LH mic pre, fixed that then part of the monitor section. By now (but NOT that long!) Behringer had stopped production and did not want to know about out of warranty servicing.

The original ADAT unit was, I understand rather unreliable but Bh's can be commended for producing a 'Mkll' that sorts the problems..WISH they had done that for the BCA2K!

As Hugh says, the Audient devices will give you much better sound quality and more versatile input options but, if you are working at 44.1 or 48kHz, the Behringer will give you more versatile clocking options and an extra 8 outputs. I have the old ADA8000 which is fine for many purposes - I'll often use it for audience mics and ambience mics on live recordings for example.

Hugh Robjohns wrote:I'd much rather have something that doesn't need the qualification and actually sounds good...

true enough! But if you got pequito dough, they sound as good as the Behringer X series, Presonus, that sort of thing. And the folks I mentioned beat the snot out of them, leaving the phantom power active all the time as they plug in every day

Quite surprised to read in the SoS review of the ASP800 that it uses a linear supply because the SMPSU is more expensive

I would have thought, by now, such audio companies would have a very 'mature' design of SMPSU "off the shelf"? The voltages required are pretty well fixed, +&- 15/16/17 V. 48V and 5V for the digital gubbinses?

And! I know this will rankle Hugh but. A stock 12V line lump and some internal converters is the way many companies save the pennies!

However - in this instance it's just 8 line ins I need for synths - and old synths at that - so once I get a clean and relatively flat signal it'll be fine. The Audient looks great - but would frankly be a waste of resource for this particular application. But I'll note it for other similar upcoming plans for sure - thanks for sharing your insight on this.

As an aside SM Pro seem to be going through a strange take over meaning poorer access for the European market - a pity - an excellent company for all sorts of practical reasons but I suppose the devices they sell are more functional than desirable so will likely struggle to maintain sufficient sales.

to ef37a - don't want to turn this into a Behringer bashing thread - but - agree with your stance. Actually I do like their DM12 and Neuron - great to see Behringer be innovative in that way; and wish they'd stay away from the clones (they're not clones in any case) - and in fact my _only_ real beef with Behringer was Uli Behringer going on to Gearslutz in late 2017 and undermining Moog publicly - poor form!.

Thanks again for the advice on the ADA8200 - I really appreciate it - and you've just enabled the final piece of a long-time happening project studio overhaul that'll be quite exciting (synth wise ) !! Cheers!

Kevin Nolan wrote:However - in this instance it's just 8 line ins I need for synths...

Why I suggested the Audients. The ADA has the advantage of being very cheap, but the disadvantage that much of your money is paying for facilities you don't need (the D-A outputs). In contrast, the ASP is more expensive, but all the money is going into the preamps and converters that you do need, and the quality improvement is not subtle.

As an aside SM Pro seem to be going through a strange take over meaning poorer access for the European market

The Australian manufacturer SM Pro was bought by the Harman group in 2015 and its products and IP redistributed and rebranded amongst other Harman brands.

Just to lob in that the Presonus DP88 is an exceptional alternative to the above (aside from the external PSU obvs), sits between the Berry and the Audient on price but the sound quality is beyond reproach, and easily a match for my Fireface 802. I've got 2 of them. They have the advantage of direct ins and out that avoid the preamps...

Hugh Robjohns wrote:Good call -- and there are other options too (but nothing I know of as affordable as the ADA8200).

Hugh - while I realise you may be need to be restricted in what you say as you do this for your living - is there a particular issue with the Behringers where they won't deliver a clean signal, or are you primarily talking about quality?

And again mindful that I'm talking about connecting up synths like the CS70M, Korg Trident, JV2080 - that sort of thing - where all I'm after is a line in with noise characteristics better than those, and a bandwidth (linearity) capable of handling those synths - are you saying that the Behringer will degrade even those signals?

While the other options are surely better - they're 3-4 times the price - and I'm trying to make a cost effective use of a spare ADAT port and idle 8 input channels on my O1V96 - nevertheless I won't buy the Behringer if it would degrade even the analogue line out from a typical synth.

Hugh - just tried to edit / shorten the post above which is too meandering - so here's what I mean:

- a little doubt popping in with subsequent posts so just for clarity - can I be confident the ADA8200 will deliver adequate line level signals for typical 70's analogue synths without noticeable degradation to those signals? That's all I'm after.

Kevin Nolan wrote:is there a particular issue with the Behringers where they won't deliver a clean signal, or are you primarily talking about quality?

They will certainly deliver what I think you mean by a 'clean' signal, and many folk are perfectly happy with them as you've seen. Just take care over the clocking arrangements, as I've said, to avoid clicks everywhere!

To my mind, though, the sound quality of the ADA8200 is about twenty years behind the times. The converter performance is lower than every other interface/converter that I've ever measured, and way below what other budget manufacturers are currently delivering -- and that's purely down to poor design quality. Moreover, the mic preamps sound pretty grainy and muddled and, again, are clearly outshone by a lot of other budget manufacturers.

I think the key word to describe the ADA8200 really is 'adequate', which is a shame when the rest of the budget MI world has moved comfortably on to 'remarkably good'.

While the other options are surely better - they're 3-4 times the price - and I'm trying to make a cost effective use of a spare ADAT port and idle 8 input channels on my O1V96

Sure, I get that... and if budget is the overriding priority you won't find cheaper than the ADA8200 and you would need to spend 4-times more for an Audient -- although we're still only talking £75 per channel. What's that in comparison to the cost of your sources? Some people will pay that much for a cable!

My personal perspective however, is that I'd rather invest in something that I know is well designed, sounds good, is well-built -- ideally in the UK -- and will be serviceable over a long lifespan. Something that I can use over the long term that has the quality to be useful in a variety of different roles as future needs evolve. Hence the Audient recommendation -- not high-end or silly money, but genuinely professional and supportable.

Obviously, it's your ears and wallet that matter... I already have an ASP880 feeding the ADAT sockets on my DM1000 console!

Thanks a million Hugh. That's crystal clear and you've convinced me. Not that I'm wealthy but I can handle the cost of an ASP880 - I was just seeing if there was no point to the extra expense - but there is for all the reasons you've highlighted. Earnestly appreciated (and to everyone else too).

More thoughts... the ASP800 is a little cheaper than the ASP880, but has the same core mic preamps and converter quality. The saving is really because there are fewer bells and whistles (which you won't need on keys anyway), but the benefit is two channels with HMX and Iron controls which might be useful for adding character to your weaker-sounding instruments.